'Coat for boat' knitters sought

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Keen knitters willing to help make a coat for a boat are being asked to contact a South Tyneside theatre.

The Customs House, in South Shields, wants to bring together the two crafts of boat-building and knitting.

A cover for a 21ft (6.4m) coble and its internal fittings is to be created using large needles and strips of recycled cotton.

The "knitted boat" will go on display at the Customs House, before being launched on the Tyne in the summer.

The coble is at the North East Maritime Trust, a boat rescue charity in South Shields, where it will be carefully taken apart before being rebuilt at the Mill Dam venue.

Artist Ingrid Warner, who has also covered Hexham bandstand in knitting, said: "This is 21st Century knitting.

"We want as many people as possible to get involved in knitting anything they can think of for inside the boat.

"Fish, octopus, clothing, you name it."